Despite the millions of Americans who now have access to affordable, quality care thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), opponents of the health care law continue in vain to try and dismantle it.
The latest of these attacks comes in the form of King vs. Burwell, a case being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the IRS regulations that allow those applying for the ACA to receive subsidies as outlined by the law and accepted by those legislators who passed it in 2010.
Here in Pennsylvania, we fought to help implement that law and get uninsured Pennsylvanians access to the healthcare coverage they so desperately needed. Now that the law is working for so many, we won’t sit idly by and let these unfounded and frivolous attacks go unanswered.
Michelle Boyle, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania member and RN at Allegheny General Hospital, has added her name to an amicus brief being filed in the case. The brief defends the subsidies and is informed by Michelle’s testimony as a healthcare provider and the testimony of other like-minded professionals.
Michelle was an early supporter of the ACA, learning firsthand the importance of having access to healthcare.
Michelle’s mother-in-law, Hannah Jewel Brown, lost her job and with it, her healthcare. She died of treatable chronic conditions at the age of 58, because she didn’t have access to basic care.
“She never lived long enough to play with her grandchildren,” said Michelle. “Our daughters hold her picture instead of her hand.”
It is this profound loss and her experience as a frontline caregiver that drives Michelle’s passion for making sure others have access to care.
“Before the Affordable Care Act passed, I saw patients and families praying at the bedside wondering if this was the time they may lose their house to medical bills,” Michelle said. “My mother-in-law didn’t receive treatment because there were no affordable options for her.”
“I have included my name on this amicus because I want other people to have access to affordable health care,” said Michelle. “So they can live to see their grandchildren.”
Read more about Michelle’s story here.